


Yes

by HereNowReady



Category: Fifth Harmony (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 01:09:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11726373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HereNowReady/pseuds/HereNowReady
Summary: According to Dinah, Lauren is stuck in a rut after her break up. Dinah sets her a challenge: say 'yes' to everything for 24 hours. Lauren doesn't expect that three letter word to lead her to Camila.Or,The one where Lauren is the worst co-worker ever.





	Yes

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first Camren fic I've written so thanks for checking it out!
> 
> Massive thanks to TheSickenerHits for correcting my late night terrible grammar. He writes awesome OITNB fics and I won't be mad if you leave now to read his stuff instead of mine. 
> 
> You can find me on Wattpad too: HereNowReady

 

“Lauren! Stop being a loser!” Dinah yelled from the kitchen, “Come help me.”

Lauren rolled her eyes, sighing as she got up from the sofa, book still in hand, “Seriously, I only have like 20 pages left to read. You have the worst timing.” She got up and wandered through to the kitchen, deciding to be nice and see what her friend needed help with.

As she strolled through the door, her eyes widened. It was chaos. Flour was coating practically every surface and ingredients were scattered haphazardly across the counter.

“So… I sort of messed up,” Dinah said while giving her sweetest smile, hoping her housemate would see the funny side and help her out.

Lauren smirked, “You don’t say.”

“I just want to get this right… It’s Mani’s birthday and I can’t let her down. This cake has to be perfect! I have no idea what I’m doing and I’m totally messing it all up,” Dinah sighed, running a hand through her hair and, in the process, adding yet another streak of flour into it.

“Hey, stop stressing!” Lauren smiled warmly, putting an arm around her friend, “Look… Mani will love whatever hideous cake you create. Want to know why?”

Dinah nodded and gave a small smile.

“Because it’s you. Dinah, that girl is so crazy about you. You could show up with the world’s worst cake, burnt to hell and she would think it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her.” Lauren playfully pushed her friend, “Now, get your act together.”

“Okay, okay!” Dinah grinned, “Thanks for the ego boost.”

“You don’t normally need it… Need to take a selfie to make yourself feel better?” Lauren suggested, grabbing a handful of flour and smearing it on Dinah’s face, “There. Now, you’re looking perfect.”

“Screw you, Jauregui.” Dinah yelled, throwing a fistful of flour at Lauren, who attempted to dodge her way around the kitchen and out of Dinah’s aim, “You know what? I _am_  going to take a selfie! I still look hot.” Dinah grabbed her phone and proceeded to take at least 10 selfies, “What are you reading anyway, nerd?”

Lauren laughed, “It’s called ‘Yes Man’. It’s by Danny Wallace.”

“That’s a movie, right? With that person from New Girl?” Dinah said as she scrolled through her phone and looked at the cake recipe again.

Lauren nodded, “The book is way better though.”

“Doesn’t that guy decide he’s going to say yes to everything? Like, no matter what?” Dinah asked, grabbing an egg and attempting to crack it with one hand. After about a quarter of the shell joined the rest of the cake ingredients, Dinah looked at Lauren for assistance, “Added crunch?”

“Move it, Hansen.” Lauren said, fishing the pieces of shell out easily, “And yeah, that’s basically what the book is about. He’s gone through a break up and he’s sort of stuck in a rut. Anyway, he decides he’s going to start saying yes to everything. If he gets asked a question that needs a yes or no answer then he has to say yes. So, if someone invites him for a night out or a girl asks for his number, he has to agree. It’s a real story too and he did it for a whole year.”

“That’s dumb,” Dinah snorted, “Imagine how much of a pain in the ass that would be.” She grabbed the spoon and began mixing the dubious looking mixture in the bowl. After stirring for a few seconds, she dropped the spoon dramatically, looking at Lauren with excitement.

“Oh god. I don’t think this is going to be good,” Lauren said with uncertainty, knowing all too well that the look currently occupying her friend’s face was one that usually led to terrible ideas.

“You should do it!”

“Do it?” Lauren raised an eyebrow in confusion, smirking. “Dinah, if you mean sex, I hate to break it to you but I’ve already done it with Lucy, remember?” She laughed.

Dinah rolled her eyes, “So we’re allowed to talk about ‘she-who-must-not-be-named’ now?”

“Don’t be so dramatic! It’s been months...”

“Lauser, you are the one who banned all discussion of her after you guys broke up,” Dinah smirked, “Anyway, back to the point. No, I don’t mean sex. I mean you should do it… Say yes to everything!”

Lauren shook her head dramatically, “Hell no. You literally _just_ said it would be a pain in the ass!”

“Oh, come on! Since Laucy ended, you’ve been so boring!!” Dinah threw her hands up, causing some flour to fly through the air, “This is just what you need! You need to have some fun.”

“Saying yes to everything is really not my idea of fun…” Lauren replied, shaking her head once more.

Dinah rolled her eyes, “Whatever, Lauren. But you’ve been avoiding things way too much. Plus, you said that guy started doing it after a break up. It’s perfect. I’m serious! When you’re not at work or class, you’re stuck here like a loner. You never come out with us anymore. You need to have fun again!”

“Reading is fun!” Lauren insisted, picking up her book in an attempt to both stop the conversation and prove her point all at once. After a few seconds, she looked up and saw Dinah still staring at her, “What?”

Dinah attempted to use her best puppy dog eyes to break her friend’s resolve, “You know what. C’mon, Lauren… You just have to say yes!”

Lauren sighed and put her book down on the counter yet again. Maybe if she just agreed, Dinah would shut up. Dinah wouldn’t even know if she stuck to their stupid deal anyway. Maybe she’d bend the rules a little and just say yes to _most_ things. “Fine. But I’m only doing it for 24 hours.”

Dinah squealed and punched the air in victory, “Yes! I didn’t think you’d agree. Okay, so your 24 hours start at midnight.”

“Why midnight? Why not now?”

“Because shit always starts at midnight in stories and stuff. Duh.” Dinah grinned and happily went back to her recipe, grabbing the ingredients with far too much enthusiasm for Lauren.

Lauren picked up her book, determined to finish it without Dinah interrupting once more. As she began to read, she wondered what the hell she’d just gotten herself into. Surely nothing too crazy could happen in 24 hours, could it?

 

\---

 

The day started just like every other Wednesday. Lauren showered and got ready for her lecture, stopping off at her favourite coffee place on the way.

“Would you like to try our new blend of coffee today?” the barista asked after Lauren had ordered, smiling way too much for that time in the morning.

Lauren was about to say no, when she suddenly remembered her deal with Dinah. Did she actually want to try this new blend of coffee? No. She liked the one she always had. But she figured this was an easy yes, nothing too dramatic. Maybe the new blend would be better, she told herself unconvincingly, “Erm, yeah. Sure.”

“And would you like to upgrade to a large coffee this morning?”

Lauren cursed inwardly then attempted to relax herself. More caffeine might be helpful. After all, she was still pretty tired and her Wednesday morning lecture was one of her more boring ones. She smiled politely, replying with the only response she was allowed to use, “Yes.”

The barista smiled warmly, “Wonderful. Can I get you anything else? A breakfast bar?”

Lauren took a deep breath and prayed that this would be the last question the barista asked her, “Sure. I’ll take a breakfast bar as well.”

Lauren seized her opportunity to end the conversation, swiftly handing over a ten dollar note and waiting for her change

She wandered to the end of the counter, waiting for her order patiently and clutching the breakfast bar that she didn’t really want. She went back to the same thought she’d had last night when Dinah had suggested this whole thing… did she  _have_ to say yes to everything? After all, Dinah wasn’t around… She would never know. Lauren sighed at herself, she knew she was too competitive for her own good. Now that she’d started this deal, she knew she’d have to stick to it. After all, if she was going to do this, she was going to do it properly. 

Anyway, Lauren reasoned with herself, it hadn’t been that bad so far. So she’d ended up with a slightly larger (and slightly different) coffee and a breakfast bar. That was no big deal. She took her first sip of coffee, smiling unexpectedly as she realised the new coffee blend was actually pretty good after all.

Feeling more positive than she had 5 minutes ago, Lauren opened the door and continued on the way to her lecture, taking a bite of her breakfast bar as she went. She had a good feeling about this whole saying yes thing. Maybe it wouldn’t even be that hard.

That thought had barely finished playing in her mind when her phone rang. 

It was her boss.

“Hello,” Lauren said – her positivity only slightly ruined as she attempted to balance her breakfast bar and phone in one hand, while her coffee was clutched in her other.

“Hey, Lauren. Sorry to bother you on your day off but I was wondering if you could work tonight? Jacob’s called in sick.”

Lauren ran her hand through her hair in frustration. Wednesday was karaoke night at the bar and she hated working on karaoke night. As someone majoring in music, she found the whole thing frustrating. Anybody with any real talent sang on a Friday at Open Mic Night. Wednesday’s karaoke night saw so many songs being murdered that it was practically a crime against the music industry. Her boss knew how much she hated it and she knew that he wouldn’t be asking her to work unless he was desperate.

“Can you make it?” her boss’ voice rang in her ears, making her realise she was yet to answer.

Lauren took a deep breath and prepared herself for the answer she knew she had to give, “Yes. Yes, I can make it. Shall I get there for 9?”

“That’s perfect! Thanks so much, Lauren. You’re a lifesaver,” he thanked her once more before hanging up the phone.

Lauren was quickly beginning to hate her deal with Dinah. She decided to take out her frustration on the girl that had caused all of this in the first place.

**Lauren: I hate you. Thanks to you, I had to say yes to working tonight. I thought you said saying yes would make me have more fun.**

**Dinah: HAHAHA!**

**Lauren: You’re an asshole.**

**Dinah: You love me really. Maybe something awesome will happen tonight and if not you’ll have extra money. It’ll be worth it, you’ll see. Any good yes experiences so far, Lauser?**

**Lauren: I have a large coffee instead of a regular… and a breakfast bar. Did I mention I have to go to work tonight now too?**

**Dinah: Ooh a breakfast bar. Damn. I’m hungry now.**

**Lauren: Oh my god, you’re so annoying.**

**Dinah: Love you too!**

Groaning in frustration, Lauren shoved her phone into her pocket. She prayed that the rest of her day would be uneventful and devoid of more irritating ‘yes’ moments.

 

\---

 

It was all going so well. The most eventful moments of the rest of her morning consisted of Lauren having to lend someone a pen and move up one seat for somebody. She reasoned that, in the grand scheme of things, she’d got off pretty lightly. Her bad mood was fading and she was beginning to feel hopeful again that things wouldn’t be so bad. That was until she overheard a few of her classmates discussing where they were going to get lunch.

She made the fatal error of lifting her head in their direction, a subconscious movement as her head followed the new sounds around her. As she made eye contact with one of them, she instantly regretted it. 

“Lauren!” Brad said, smiling far too much for Lauren’s liking. He’d been trying to get her to hang out with them since the year had begun and it was quite clear he had a crush on her, “Do you wanna join us for lunch?”

She vaguely knew Brad, and he was harmless enough, but she had no interest in having lunch with him and his friends, especially when she knew he had feelings for her. But now, thanks to Dinah Jane Hansen, she was stuck.

“Uh…” She took a deep breath and prepared herself as she wondered if there was any possible way to word her reply so that it wasn’t a definitive ‘yes’. She knew she’d already paused for too long, “Actually, yeah. But, don’t worry if not. I’d hate to crash.”

Brad was clearly caught off guard, not expecting her to say yes at all. It only took him a few seconds to flash a smile at her, “Great! I mean, yeah, you can totally join us.”

Lauren smiled weakly then turned away, gathering up her things. She clenched her fist quickly, her knuckles turning white as she tried to relieve some of her aggravation. She had a tendency to get easily frustrated. That was just her temperament. She counted to three slowly in her head, unclenched her fist and tried to convince herself that this wasn’t so bad. After all, she was hungry. It had been a long time since she’d finished that breakfast bar. Food wouldn’t be so bad. She could make this work.

 

\---

 

A couple of hours later, Lauren was smiling and waving goodbye to her classmates. Sure, Brad had been a bit annoying but the rest of the people there were actually really nice and, since there was a fairly big group of them, she’d successfully managed to avoid talking to Brad much at all. It occurred to her that perhaps she should have made an effort to get to know them sooner. She headed to her next lecture of the day, trying to forget that she had to work later on.

The rest of the day, thankfully, passed uneventfully. Lauren had a few more ‘yes’ moments but nothing overly annoying. Grateful for her easy afternoon, she headed back to the apartment to grab some food and get ready for work.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard the front door open and Dinah’s voice echo through the apartment.

“Lauren! You still here?”

“Yeah, hang on, I’m coming,” Lauren yelled, putting her leather jacket on, grabbing her phone and heading into the main room.

Dinah smiled, “So, how’s it going?”

Checking she had everything in her bag, Lauren replied, “Actually, not that bad. I think it could have been worse. Apart from having to work, I’ve been pretty lucky. I had lunch with some people from my lecture and it was actually…”

“Fun?” Dinah finished her sentence, her face practically screaming, ‘I told you so’.

Lauren rolled her eyes, “Just because lunch wasn’t awful it does not mean you’re right about this _saying yes_ thing, Dinah. If I wasn’t doing your dumb challenge, I wouldn’t have to work.”

“I’m telling you, it’s all going to be good. I have a feeling about this.”

Lauren groaned, picking up her bag and heading towards the door, “You would. You’re not the one saying yes!”

“You’ve just gotta embrace it, Lauren, instead of being a grumpy old woman,” Dinah smirked, “It’s only until midnight. Embrace the yes!

“If anything bad happens tonight, you’d better sleep with one eye open, Hansen,” Lauren mumbled, closing the door and heading back out into the terrifying world of potential ‘yes’ moments.

 

\---

 

Lauren had only been at work about thirty minutes and she was already feeling frustration rising. Every little job ended up being completed by her, because – of course – she wasn’t allowed to say no. On top of that, her ears felt like they were bleeding due to the hideous rendition of ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ she’d just had to endure.

About an hour into her shift, Ally arrived. Lauren breathed a sigh of relief. She loved working with Ally. She, Dinah and Ally had all gone to the same high school and had been friends for years. Although Ally was older than them, they’d reconnected after high school and found themselves working in the same bar. The older girl’s enthusiasm was infectious and she never failed to make Lauren smile.

Ally joined her behind the bar, practically bouncing as she walked. Lauren felt instant relief and happiness spreading through her body. Ally smiled as she took her spot at the left side of the bar, “Hey, Lauren! Can you pass me that bucket of ice, please?”

“Yes!” Lauren said happily. It was one of the few ‘yes’ moments of the night that she hadn’t found herself annoyed about, “How are you? I wasn’t looking forward to this shift at all but I’m so glad I’m working with you!”

“You’re so sweet!” Ally smiled, grabbing the bucket of ice from Lauren. As she did, the phone behind the bar began to ring, “Hey, Lauren, can you grab that?”

“Sure,” Lauren said, a tiny hint of annoyance in her voice. Why did she have to get the phone? Dan was closer to it anyway. Regardless, she answered and was quickly done and back to the front of the bar.

As Lauren made eye contact with Ally, the older girl looked away quickly. Lauren furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. What was going on?

“Could you pass me some clean shot glasses, please?” Ally asked, pointing to the stack of glasses right next to her.

Lauren was confused. There were at least twenty clean shot glasses right next to Ally. Why did she need more right now? The bar wasn’t even busy yet. Feeling irritated, she grabbed some shot glasses (after all, she couldn’t exactly say no) and held them out towards her friend. She noticed that Ally looked nervous. Far too slowly, the cogs turned and everything clicked into place.

“Dinah fucking told you! Allyson, you’ve been making me say yes this whole time!”

Ally breathed a sigh of relief, “I am so glad you realised. I am so sorry! I tried to be obvious…”

“Yeah, yeah, Brooke,” Lauren narrowed her eyes but as soon as she looked at Ally’s face she couldn’t help but laugh. The older girl looked so worried, “Calm down, Ally! How could I be mad with you? You’re like a ball of sunshine. Besides, your shitty acting meant this didn’t exactly last long.”

“Dinah told me to do it but then as soon as I started I felt so bad!” Ally’s word blurted out at the speed of light.

Lauren laughed, “Well, you can relax. Rules are that people that know about me saying yes aren’t allowed to take advantage. So, we both win. I can actually say no to you, and you don’t have to feel bad!”

Ally breathed a sigh of relief and Lauren saw her friend visibly relax. She laughed to herself and carried on with the meaningless jobs she was doing. Although she hated karaoke night, she found herself wishing the bar was a little busier. At least then she’d have more to do.

Dan had asked if she’d mind re-stocking all the fridges and she found herself saying ‘yes’ with far too much enthusiasm. Keeping busy would only help make her shift pass by quicker. About half an hour later, the bar was getting more crowded. Unfortunately, that meant there were more performances to endure.

Lauren inwardly cringed as, yet another, flat note echoed through the air. Fortunately, that particular flat note was the last note of the song and Lauren exhaled loudly (for what was perhaps the fifth time in the last minute) as the guy singing left the stage – although calling those noises ‘singing’ seemed pretty generous.

“Thank fuck that’s over…” Lauren mumbled to herself, rubbing her forehead to try and ease the slight headache that was forming.

Suddenly, she heard a gentle laugh coming from behind her and she quickly turned around. Embarrassingly, the first thought in her mind was that the sound of that laugh was the best melody she’d heard all night. Her eyes found the source of the sound and the strange rush that was coursing through her veins only intensified. If she’d thought the sound of that laughter was beautiful, she had no words to describe the girl sat just a few meters away.

The most intoxicating brown eyes she’d ever seen were staring right at her. Lauren swallowed, unsure of why her body was reacting so strongly to so little. Her gaze lowered and she was met with an adorable grin. Her stomach flipped uncontrollably.

“Hey, Lauren, are you alright to stay over there and serve on that side?” Dan asked, motioning to the area where Lauren’s eyes were already fixated.

Unlike other times that day, Lauren had no problem with the word she was about to utter, “Yes.”

She made her way over and closer to those brown eyes that seemed to be staring straight into her soul.

“It sounds like you enjoyed that guy’s performance as much as me,” the girl said, smirking and gesturing towards the stage.

It took Lauren too long to even process what the girl had said. She was far too distracted by her voice, her eyes, her lips…

Mentally chastising herself, she cleared her throat and attempted to bring herself back down to Earth. She ran a hand through her hair, hoping her nerves weren’t too obvious. Why the hell was she nervous anyway? Why was she losing her shit over this girl?

She needed a distraction and grabbed a glass, cleaning it as she spoke, smiling as she finally responded, “I don’t know what you mean. It was the highlight of my day.”

“Wow. The rest of your day must have been terrible then.”

The girl laughed again and, once more, Lauren found herself feeling way too much all at once. She put the glass down and made her way over to the front of the bar until she was stood right in front of the girl. Instantly, she wasn’t sure if that had been a good decision. The girl was even more stunning up close. Lauren attempted to avert her gaze, aware that her eyes had already been focused on the stranger in front of her for too long.

Lauren was trying to verbalise a response when her eyes locked onto brown ones. She swore that those brown eyes had just glanced down at her lips, but she shook it off. After all, she had to be imagining things.

Before she had chance to even respond, the girl was speaking again and Lauren felt frustration that she hadn’t even managed to come up with a decent reply. Confidence wasn’t normally something she struggled with but something about this stranger had her completely thrown.

“Maybe I can help make your day better though,” the girl with the brown eyes said softly, a gentle smile playing on her lips.

Lauren’s mouth was suddenly and inexplicably as dry as the Sahara desert. She barely managed to stutter out her next sentence, “Oh… I mean… H-how will you do that, then?”

“Well, first, I’ll order a drink and that can at least distract you from the awful sounds that are coming out of the speakers,” the girl said simply, her fingers gliding smoothly across the surface of the bar and forming small circular patterns.

Lauren grinned, “How kind of you…”

She let her sentence hang in the air, hoping the mystery girl would understand her intentions.

“Camila.”

“Camila,” Lauren repeated, letting her tongue wrap around the name as she said it aloud for the first time, “Well, Camila, what drink can I get you?”

“A vodka and cranberry, please…” Camila smirked as she copied Lauren’s method and let her sentence hang in the air deliberately unfinished.

“Erm… Lauren,” she rolled her eyes at herself as she turned away from Camila to grab a glass. Why was she incapable of talking to this girl without stuttering and stumbling over her words?

“Thanks, Erm Lauren,” Camila said, taking the drink and handing Lauren a ten dollar note.

Lauren’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion but, after a few seconds, she laughed and shot a playful glare at Camila. She shrugged, “I’ve been called worse names.”

She turned away, retrieving Camila’s change from the cash register. Before she returned to the front of the bar, she took a deep breath, steadying her nerves, “So, since you’re enjoying these performances as much as I am, what’s your excuse for subjecting yourself to this? I mean, I have no choice. I have to be here.”

The unmistakeable sound of ‘Skyscraper’ began to fill the air and Lauren inwardly cringed. She’d heard that song being sung badly at least 3 times already that night.

She passed Camila her change and her stomach flipped as their fingers softly brushed together. She pulled her hand away slowly, wanting to prolong the electrifying feeling that was dominating her body due to their contact.

“Maybe I’m just a masochist,” Camila’s voice was soft and low, her eyes fixating on Lauren’s as she spoke. She winked as she said, “You know, hearing Demi Lovato songs being murdered really turns me on.”

“Demi would be turning in her grave listening to this shit,” Lauren laughed, her head turning towards the stage briefly. It didn’t take long for her eyes to return to Camila.

Camila giggled, and, as the sound reached her ears, Lauren was entirely unprepared for the sudden surge that filled her entire body, “Lauren, you are aware that Demi Lovato isn’t dead, right?”

Lauren rolled her eyes, unable to hold in a smile as her name left Camila’s lips. This time, she was absolutely sure Camila’s gaze wandered to her lips and, as she looked back up, Lauren saw her gently bite her bottom lip. That was all Lauren needed to gain a sudden burst of confidence. “Anyway, Camila, how else are you going to make my day better? You said that the first thing was ordering a drink. Do you want another by the way? You’ve pretty much finished that one.”

Camila nodded, her fingers twirling the straw around in her practically empty glass, “That would be good.”

Lauren wasted no time, returning with the drink in record time. Her speed was mostly due to her desire to return to Camila as soon as possible but also because she didn’t want to be forced into any more ‘yes’ moments by being around her co-workers for too long.

She placed the drink down in front of Camila with a playful smirk. She leaned against the bar, bringing herself just that little bit closer to the girl in front of her, “You didn’t answer my question, Camila.”

Camila raised an eyebrow, “Surely, my amazing conversational skills are improving your day, Lauren. This is a quality chat we’re having right now, you know. I don’t give those out to just anyone.”

Lauren laughed, “Well, I’m honoured, Camila.”

“You can call me, Mila, by the way… If you want. My friends call me that.” Camila said, bringing her drink up to her lips.

“We’re friends now?” Lauren deliberately widened her eyes, maintaining eye contact with Camila as she smirked slightly and ran a hand through her hair. This time it wasn’t out of nerves, but confidence.

As she stretched her arm upwards, she could’ve sworn Camila’s eyes lowered, checking out the hint of stomach that showed as Lauren’s t-shirt lifted above the waistband of her black skinny jeans. All too soon, Lauren’s hand was lowered and the moment was over. Lauren ran her tongue along her bottom lip before she decided to continue teasing the girl in front of her. Her voice came out lower than she expected, her raspy tones even stronger than usual, “We’re moving pretty fast here, don’t you think?”

A delicate shade of pink was suddenly present in Camila’s cheeks and Lauren felt her heart soaring at the sight. Lauren took advantage of Camila’s flustered state and spoke again, “Mila? Hmm… I don’t know. I might think of my own name for you. After all, maybe I don’t want to be like your friends. Maybe I’d like to be something different.”

It was evident that Camila’s momentary lapse of confidence was over as she locked eyes with Lauren’s green ones and began to run her thumb over her bottom lip. Her thumb was quickly replaced with her teeth as she gently tugged on her own lip. After a few seconds, which was more than enough to cause Lauren’s heart to hammer in her chest, Camila spoke slowly. Each word seemed to be spoken with utter precision, each syllable beautifully accentuated, “What exactly would you like to be then?”

Lauren stuttered slightly, too distracted by the way Camila’s voice had caused her body to feel as though it was burning up. If she were to spontaneously combust at this very moment, she wouldn’t have been surprised. How was it possible for someone she barely even knew to elicit such a strong reaction? Before she’d had a chance to contemplate the answer, she heard a voice calling out her name.

She looked over her shoulder to see Ally gesturing to the queue of people at the bar, an apologetic look in her eyes. She’d clearly tried to avoid getting Lauren’s attention before but there were now far too many people for Ally to serve by herself. Lauren wondered how she hadn’t even noticed such a large queue building up. Rolling her eyes at herself, she realised the answer was stood in front of her wearing a tight black dress. Camila.

“I have to…” she gestured at the queue before asking hopefully, “Do you… I mean… Will you still be here in a few minutes? I still have to come up with my own name for you after all.”

“That’s true,” Camila lifted her glass, draining the last few drops of her drink, “Maybe.”

Whilst Lauren had found herself getting fed up of the word ‘yes’ earlier, she would’ve given anything to hear that one word leave Camila’s lips right now, “Maybe?” 

Camila nodded, her voice practically purring out her words, “Maybe. You better get back to work, Lo.”

Lauren raised her eyebrow, “Lo?”

“I don’t waste time. Better get thinking of that name.” Camila nodded her head in the direction of Ally, who was clearly struggling to keep up with the crowd around the bar, “You really should go. I’d hate to get you into trouble.”

Lauren walked across to the other side of the bar to help Ally. She tried to focus on the customers as they gave her their orders but all she could really think about was how she really wouldn’t care how much trouble she got in as long as Camila was the cause of it.

It momentarily occurred to her that, if Dinah heard about any of this, she would never hear the end of it. After all, saying ‘yes’ seemed to be leading Lauren down a pretty good path right now.

Between the two of them, Lauren and Ally managed to handle the queue of people with ease. After about 10 minutes of constantly serving, the queue was almost non-existent. Lauren glanced across the bar and found a distinct gap right where Camila had been previously. She was gone.

“Fuck…” Lauren muttered, unaware of why she was so bothered that Camila had disappeared. After all, she barely knew her. 

Ally noticed her friend’s frown, “Are you alright, Lauren?”

Lauren rubbed her forehead, shaking her head briefly in an attempt to clear her mind. Looking at her friend, she nodded but she knew it was less than convincing, “Erm, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

Another song ended and there was a small scattering of applause. Lauren hadn’t even registered what song had been sung but she was sure that it probably didn’t deserve the polite applause that was ringing around the bar.

She was about to ask Ally if she’d seen where Camila had gone when her attention was diverted as the next song began to play through the speakers. It was far too familiar and not a song that she’d ever expected to hear at karaoke night. The gentle sounds of Ed Sheeran’s acoustic guitar echoed in the air. This had always been one of her favourite songs but she was used to the fact that people usually didn’t know it. After all, it wasn’t one of his famous tracks.

A few seconds later, a voice began to accompany the backing track and Lauren was sure she had never heard anything so heavenly before. It was as though everything else disappeared as the voice filled her ears. She quickly spun around, needing to see the person who was singing. Her mind was racing, already forming a guess that she knew was far too hopeful. Surely, it had to just be wishful thinking…

Without even thinking, she stepped out from behind the bar, barely even hearing Ally calling after her. As she turned the corner, familiar brown eyes looked down at her from the stage and Lauren felt as though she was frozen to the spot. Camila smiled shyly at her as their eyes met and focused fully on each other’s. Lauren’s breath caught in her throat as the sound of Camila’s voice seemed to reverberate through her entire being.

 _You and I_ _  
_ _We’re drifting over the edge_

Lauren found herself fixated on the way Camila’s voice twisted and turned around the melodies, effortlessly rising and falling in what sounded like perfection. Her heart felt like it was beating so loudly that the whole bar was bound to hear it. If karaoke night was like this all the time, Wednesdays were Lauren’s new favourite day.

The rest of the song seemed to pass in a blur and it took Lauren far too long to realise the song had ended. The applause around her brought her back down to Earth and, as she crash landed back into reality, disappointment began to flood through her because Camila’s song was over and, if she had one wish, she’d ask to rewind and relive the last 3 minutes all over again. It was as though she’d been soaring through the clouds and she’d suddenly hit the ground with a loud thud. She’d give anything to fly again.

“Thank you,” Camila said as she stepped towards the microphone again, her gaze never leaving Lauren. She smiled before adding, “Hopefully that helped to make a certain person’s day even better.”

Lauren was powerless to stop the massive grin that she was sure was spreading across her face. Besides, she wasn’t sure she wanted to stop it.

It occurred to Lauren that with the physical barrier of the bar gone, this was her chance to get closer to Camila and actually talk to her without a huge structure in the way. She smiled as she realised that for the first time in a long time she had a rush of excitement coursing through her veins. Maybe Dinah had been right. Since everything had ended with Lucy, she hadn't really allowed herself to make any new or meaningful connections. She'd stopped trying.

Maybe now was the time to fix that.

Camila had sparked something inside her and Lauren knew that she couldn't end the night without at least trying to see if that spark was worth pursuing.

Lauren moved towards the stage, reaching the bottom of the steps just as Camila began descending them. Lauren pretended not to notice Camila’s brief stumble on the second step.

Brown eyes met hers and Camila laughed, “I can sing on a stage with no problems but apparently I can’t walk down stairs without almost falling on my ass.”

“It’s alright. It was actually pretty cute,” Lauren said quietly, although, judging by Camila’s smile, her words had been heard. Exuding more confidence than she actually had, Lauren walked up to meet her halfway down the stairs, holding out her hand, “Need assistance?”

Camila looked pleasantly surprised, accepting the outstretched hand quickly. Lauren’s first thought was similar to that of a feeling of inevitability or fate. Camila’s hand felt so right in her own. It was as though they'd been doing this their whole lives. Lauren felt a blush spreading across her face at the speed of light. She hoped Camila wouldn’t notice.

“You were incredible, by the way. I loved your song choice,” Lauren said softly, hoping if she continued the conversation that Camila wouldn’t mention the ridiculously obvious redness covering her cheeks.

“Thanks. It’s one of my favourite songs,” Camila smiled warmly, “I’m glad you liked it. After all, I did say I’d try and make your day better. It sort of would’ve sucked if you’d hated it.”

They left the final step and began moving through the vague crowd surrounding the stage. Lauren realised that there was no need for their hands to still be connected, but made no move to separate them. ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ began playing and Lauren noticed a smile spreading across Camila’s face.

Lauren laughed, “Don’t tell me you’re a One Direction fan?”

“I’m not even ashamed,” Camila said, shrugging her shoulders, “Come on, you can’t tell me you don’t like this song! It’s so catchy!”

Lauren sighed softly, “I’m totally losing cool points but, yeah, it is pretty catchy.”

“What cool points?” Camila smirked, giggling gently.

Gasping, Lauren clutched at her heart dramatically, “That hurt, Camz.”

Camila raised her eyebrow, “Camz?”

“Yep,” Lauren nodded, “Camz.”

After a few seconds, Camila nodded her head in approval and smiled, “Not bad, Lo. I like it. Dance with me?”

Lauren looked back at the bar. It wasn’t that busy and her co-workers didn’t seem to need her but she definitely shouldn’t be abandoning them for longer than she already had. If her boss found out, he definitely wouldn’t be impressed. Then again, it wasn’t like she was actually allowed to say no… Dinah had made it very clear that their deal didn’t end until midnight and right now it was 11:45pm. Technically, there was only one response she was allowed to give.

Camila followed the direction of Lauren’s gaze and she spoke again before Lauren could reply, “I actually forgot you were working. Of course you can’t dance with me…”

But Lauren knew the rules. The question had been asked and she had to say yes. Besides, there was nothing she wanted more than to say yes anyway. If she got in trouble with her boss, she had a feeling she wouldn’t really care. Some things were worth it.

She gently placed her hand on Camila’s cheek, directing her gaze away from the bar and back towards her, “Yes, I want to dance with you.”

Lauren’s heart felt like it leapt straight out of her chest when she saw Camila smile in response. She tried to ignore how ridiculous it was that she could be so irrevocably drawn to someone she’d only met that night.

Suddenly, her hand was being pulled and she was following Camila into the crowd. Lauren looked back at the bar quickly and saw Ally giving her a thumbs up. Clearly, her friend wasn’t too bothered about her sudden disappearance. She knew she’d have to return to the bar soon though. There was no way she could get away with this for long.

Lauren couldn’t help but grin as Camila sang along and danced excitedly to One Direction (well, a karaoke version of One Direction). She was word perfect and Lauren giggled at how endearing she found this whole moment. If this was a movie, she was sure the main characters would be having some sort of slow and romantic dance right now. Either that, or the air would be filled with sexual tension and body parts would be pressed so tightly that there was barely room to breathe. As she watched Camila, she couldn’t help but smile and it occurred to her that, in her opinion, she’d take real life over the movie version any day.

Without warning, Camila grabbed Lauren’s other hand and spun her round, placing a hand on her hip to stop her after a couple of turns. Lauren marvelled over Camila’s ability to go from being ridiculously sexy with her lip biting and intoxicating eyes, to being completely adorable.

Camila smiled, catching her breath, before allowing her other hand to reach Lauren’s hip as well. Camila’s hands moved upwards a fraction and softly connected with the skin just above her hips and Lauren was on fire again.

Her head was spinning and she never wanted it to stop. Just like that, the entire room seemed to fade away and Camila’s ridiculous dancing and endearing smiles were a thing of the past. Instead, all Lauren could feel was an inexplicable force that seemed to be pulling her even closer to the brown eyed girl who was mere centimeters away from her.

Lauren was so close she swore she was about to get lost in the dark brown ocean of Camila’s eyes. She stepped forward reasoning that if she was going to drown in those eyes, she may as well do it properly.

The sudden sound of applause broke the moment between them and, as though she’d been temporarily transported elsewhere the moment Camila’s hands had touched her skin, she was instantaneously brought back to reality. Both girls stepped backwards slightly and Camila’s hands fell back and hung by her side somewhat awkwardly. Lauren ran a hand through her hair, this time because of the nervous feeling that was swirling around uncontrollably in her stomach.

Camila was first to break the silence, “Lauren…”

Looking up, Lauren was met with a tentative smile and eyes that were becoming beautifully familiar. She felt her nervousness melt away.

“I want to ask you something. I might have totally misjudged this but I was wondering if maybe…” Camila trailed off, her eyes darting downwards as she inhaled deeply. As she looked back up and met Lauren’s gaze, she opened her mouth to speak again but was cut off by Lauren.

It occurred to Lauren that perhaps, just maybe, Camila was about to ask her out. Of course, that could just be wishful thinking. But, if she was correct, Lauren didn’t want it to happen like this.

“This is going to make me sound completely crazy,” Lauren began, hoping that she wasn’t about to entirely ruin what was easily one of the best nights of her life. She saw Camila’s smile falter and quickly grabbed her hand, hoping it would reassure her, “but whatever question you were about to ask me, could you ask me it in 9 minutes time?”

Confusion filled Camila’s face, “9 minutes?”

Lauren nodded. She knew it was a risk, but she wanted there to be only one reason why she was saying yes if Camila asked her out. No stupid rules or dares. She squeezed Camila’s hand gently, “Yeah. I just… I’ll explain later, I promise.”

Lauren’s eyes glanced over to Ally and she saw her friend gesture towards the main door of the bar. Her boss had just arrived.

She allowed her eyes to meet Camila’s again, silently praying that the girl in front of her would still be around in 9 minutes time. She spoke quickly, knowing she didn’t have much time to get back behind the bar before her boss started asking questions, “My boss just got here. I have to get back to the bar but…” She paused, taking a deep breath before she finished her sentence, “Stay?”

“Maybe,” Camila smirked. Lauren’s face fell as she got the same response she had earlier that evening. She knew Camila could see the disappointment in her eyes. Camila grinned, “I’m kidding. 9 minutes. I’ll be here.”

“I think it's 8 minutes now,” Lauren shouted over her shoulder as she darted back towards the bar, a stupidly large smile plastered on her face.

The clock seemed to move excruciatingly slowly and Lauren was sure that time had slowed down on purpose just to annoy her.

_7 minutes._

She glanced around far too often, checking that Camila was indeed still there. Every time she was met with the same sight: Camila sat on the same bar stool as before, watching her intently, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

_6 minutes._

Lauren could feel the tension building inside her. It was as though her stomach was riding a roller coaster and she had no way to stop it.

_5 minutes._

A customer asked for a cocktail and she found herself feeling grateful. That would waste a couple of minutes at least. She grabbed the various bottles she needed and set them out on the side.

_4 minutes._

As if on autopilot, Lauren mixed the various liquids together. She had no idea how the finished cocktail ended up in front of her because thoughts of Camila were clouding her mind entirely. Nevertheless, she handed the drink over to the waiting customer.

_3 minutes._

Panic began to set in. What if Camila hadn’t even been planning on asking her out at all? What if she’d just been about to ask for another drink and now she was sat there waiting for 9 minutes just to order a goddamn vodka and cranberry?

_2 minutes._

Fuck. She’d totally fucked up. This was going to be so embarrassing. Lauren wiped her palms on her jeans and told herself she was being ridiculous… She only partially believed herself.

_1 minute._

Camila was looking at the clock behind the bar. Lauren’s eyes darted between the second hand, which was ticking around teasingly slowly, and Camila who was miraculously still sat there waiting for her.

_Midnight._

Luck was on Lauren’s side. As the clock struck midnight, Lauren looked around and found no customers waiting by the side of the bar. Well, except one.

Camila.

Running a hand through her hair once again, she took a deep breath and made her way over to the girl who had her completely and utterly enamoured.

“So… Are those 9 minutes finally up?”

Lauren opened her mouth to speak but words failed her so she settled for a nod. She took a sip of her water and attempted to speak again, “Erm, yeah. We’re all good.”

“Finally.”

Lauren felt a smile forming as her eyes met Camila’s. Suddenly, everything seemed better. She laughed softly, “Yeah, sorry about that. I promise I’ll totally explain everything.”

“Well, maybe, you could explain it on our date,” Camila’s words were so casually said that it took Lauren far too long to process them properly. During the silence, Camila spoke again, sounding a little more nervous this time, “Please tell me I didn’t wait 9 minutes to be rejected…”

Lauren’s eyes widened and, whilst before her words were non-existent, now they left her mouth far too quickly, becoming a jumbled mess, “No… Oh my god… That’s so not what is happening. Wait… Fuck…” Lauren inhaled sharply, willing her brain to allow her words to actually make sense, “Retake?”

Camila laughed gently, shaking her head in amusement at the situation unfolding in front of her, “God, it’s a good job you’re so beautiful.”

Camila glanced down at Lauren’s cheeks, noticing the soft shade of pink that was now settling there. She looked back up, fixed her eyes on Lauren’s once again and spoke softly, maintaining eye contact as she asked Lauren the question she’d wanted to ask her for far longer than the last 9 minutes, “Lauren, will you go on a date with me?”

Lauren knew that over the last 24 hours she’d had to say ‘yes’ a lot. Sometimes she’d wanted to say it anyway, but knowing she had to still altered the intentions of it slightly. But now there were no rules forcing the word out of her mouth and she grinned at the knowledge that, this time, that 3 letter word was entirely her own.

“Yes,” Lauren said simply, taking a breath before continuing, “I’d love to, Camz.”

It was the best yes she’d ever said.


End file.
